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Sprint wins, first carrier to roll out Jelly Bean 4.1.1 to Samsung Galaxy S III

We knew U.S. carriers would separately announce availability of Jelly Bean updates when Samsung announced the update would arrive to U.S. carriers in the “coming months.” Sprint announced today it is the first U.S. carrier to roll out the update, with Android 4.1.1 now available to the carrier’s Galaxy S III users. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and U.S. Cellular have yet to announce a specific update for its Jelly Bean updates, but they should in the weeks to come.

Today, Sprint became the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer the Android™ 4.1.1, Jelly Bean, update to its Samsung Galaxy S® III customers. The update began rolling out today and adds a host of new and enhanced TouchWiz® features, offering a faster, richer and more responsive device experience.

Sprint said the update started rolling out to eligible Galaxy S III users over the air this morning:

The update is available as an over the air update. When your Galaxy S III is eligible for the update, it will automatically download. Once the download is complete, you will be prompted to install the update.Installation will take a few minutes, and your device will be disabled during the installation process. It will be ready to use when the process is complete.

Sprint’s full press release is below:

Sprint First U.S. Wireless Carrier to offer Jelly Bean to Samsung Galaxy S III Customers,
Rollout Starts Today

Today, Sprint became the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer the Android™ 4.1.1, Jelly Bean, update to
its Samsung Galaxy S® III customers. The update began rolling out today and adds a host of new and
enhanced TouchWiz® features, offering a faster, richer and more responsive device experience.

The update is available as an over the air update. When your Galaxy S III is eligible for the update, it
will automatically download. Once the download is complete, you will be prompted to install the update.
Installation will take a few minutes, and your device will be disabled during the installation process. It will
be ready to use when the process is complete.

Jelly Bean offers users a smoother, faster and more fluid experience with expanded feature functionality,
including:
• Google Now™ gets you just the right information at just the right time, like how much traffic to
expect before you leave for work or when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the
platform. Google Now can be launched by pressing and holding the menu key from the home
screen.
• Expandable, actionable notifications allowing you to take action directly from the notifications
shade.
• Android Beam™ now lets you send photos and more.
• Widgets work like magic as you place widgets on the screen, everything else automatically
moves to make room; when they’re too big, widgets resize on their own.

Samsung also added new capabilities to Galaxy S III, including:
• Camera Enhancements:
o New live camera and camcorder filters offer a range of new ways to spark your creativity.
Warm vintage, cold vintage, black and white, sepia, color highlights (blue, green, red/
yellow), and many more are selectable from the main camera screen.
o Pause and resume while recording video allows users to string together multiple captured
video clips from a party, birthday, or sporting event into a single file with no post editing
required.
o Low light photo mode takes advantage of Galaxy S III’s best-in-class High Dynamic
Range (HDR) capabilities and offers an optimized mode for low light and indoor photos.
• Pop Up Play Update easily resizes or pauses the Pop Up Play picture-in-picture video window,
taking full advantage of Galaxy S III’s powerful processor and large 4.8-inch display.
• Easy Mode is a simplified user experience option for first-time smartphone owners, providing
large home screen widgets that focus on the device essentials.
• Blocking Mode can disable incoming calls, notifications, alarms and LED indicators for a
designated period of time.
• Improved Usability with access to multiple keyboard options and the addition of the Swype®
keyboard.

With the Jelly Bean update, Galaxy S III will also add support for some exciting new accessories.
• AllShare® Cast Wireless Hub allows users to wirelessly mirror their phone screen to any HDTV or
HDMI® display. It even supports licensed content playback of premium TV and movies.
• NFC One Touch Pairing Support pairs Galaxy S III with supporting NFC Bluetooth® accessories
in a single touch.

Join the conversation:

What feature updates caught your eye? How will you use Galaxy S III with Jelly Bean? 

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Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s weekly Logic Pros series and makes music as one half of Toronto-based Makamachine.


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